Tomorrow an up-date on Commercial Money Center, PinnLeasing USA,

and RW Professional---as we work on seven bulletin board complaints---

and you might be surprised who has “integrity” and who does not.

We will let you decide the answer to each situation.

http://two.leasingnews.org/cartoons/PANTS.gif

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Further Clarification---Amstat, Melbourne, Florida

Sorry Kit, one more clarification ...

Amstat Capital is Bob Putnam's company and is located in Melbourne, Florida.

AMSTAT Corporation, now known as American States Leasing is located in

Tampa, Florida.

Again, we are not at all related, just similar names and locations.

Thanks Kit!

Louise Jennings

AMSTAT Capital

amstat@mindspring.com

If you missed this, please go to:

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/November%202003/11-19-03.htm#alert

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Jim Coston Appears Before Cook County Board

Lease tax plus property tax will drive more small businesses into Will County and Indiana, says lease attorney James E. Coston

CHICAGO ()--A Chicago attorney whose firm concentrates in equipment-lease and finance law told the Cook County Board today that its proposed 4-per-cent tax on business-equipment leases will accelerate what he called the "grim exodus" of small businesses from Cook County.

"Small businesses are by far the largest generator of new jobs in Cook County, and small businesses are the principal users of equipment leasing," said James E. Coston, managing partner of the Loop law firm Coston, Fioretti & Lichtman, and incoming president of the United Association of Equipment Leasing.

"That is precisely why we should not be saddling this vital segment of Cook County industry with a tax on one of its most precious resources-leased equipment," Coston told the Board. "Just as small business is keeping Chicagoland's economy alive, equipment leasing is keeping small business alive."

Citing a recent study prepared by A.T. Kearney for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, Coston said small businesses are generating two-thirds of all the new jobs in the Chicago area.

And small businesses "rely critically" on equipment leasing to keep their capital costs down and free up operating cash," he said.

"Before equipment leasing was devised, very few would-be entrepreneurs had the means to open a business," Coston said. "Going into business meant getting a bank loan, and that meant being known in the community, recruiting family and friends as co-signers, maybe taking out a second mortgage on your home."

Today, he said, equipment-leasing enables "thousands of entrepreneurs to realize their personal dreams while enabling the American economy to keep growing despite wrenching structural changes."

Noting that a small business named CDW Computer Centers had grown from 135 employees in 1992 to 2,800 employees in 2001, Coston said, "As the payrolls shrink at Motorola, U.S. Steel, United Airlines, Sears and dozens of other members of the corporate Who's Who, small business recycles the furloughed employees back into the economic mainstream.

"You might say that small business is Chicagoland's most effective unemployment-insurance policy," he said.

But the already high Cook County property tax is driving more and more businesses into adjacent low-tax jurisdictions such as Will County and Indiana, Coston said, and an equipment-lease tax will only accelerate the rush for the doors.

"It's the wrong tax, on the wrong businesses, at the wrong time, and in the wrong place," Coston said. "Tax output, not investment. Tax wealth after it has been created-not before."

  Full Speech before Cook County Board:

http://two.leasingnews.org/temporary/CountyBdLease.htm

### Press Release #####################################

This Day in American History

    1620-The first child born of English parents in New England was Peregrine White, born on board the Mayflower off Cape Cod harbor. He was the son of Susanna and William White.

        1775- Forks of Tar River, North Carolina, changed its name to Washington in honor

of General Washington and his fight for the United Colonies.

       1776- the Continental Congress authorized the building of the US

Navy first ship, America, which was to be commanded by John Paul Jones. On September 23, 1782, the America was presented to King Louis XVI of France in appreciation of his country’s assistance during the Revolutionary War.

       1711- the first Sperm whale captured at sea was captured by a whaling vessel out of Nantucket, MA. This was the beginning of an industry that numbered over 700 vessels by 1846.

       1715-Whaling expedition on record set sail from Nantucket, MA, about 1715. Six sloops, of 30 to 40 tons burden each, returned with cargoes amounting to 600 barrels of oil and 11,000 pounds of bone, the total value of which was £1,100 sterling. There were whaling trips by single boats prior to this expedition.

       1726-Birthdy of Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Doctor, sheriff, judge, soldier. Continental Congress (1776-1777). Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (1786-1796).  Governor (1797). born Windsor, CT. Died Dec. 1, 1797, at Litchfield, CT. http://www.oliverwolcott.com/

        1789- New Jersey became the first state to ratify 10 of the 12 amendments to the US Constitution proposed by Congress. These 10 amendments came to be known as the "Bill of Rights."

http://www.magnacartaplus.org/usa-rights/#billofrights

       1819- the first ship sunk by a whale was the whaler Essex, which sailed from Nantucket, MA, on August 12, 1819, headed for the whaling grounds off the coast of Chile. According to the account of first mate Owen Chase, on November 20, 1820, the Essex was hunting sperm whales at latitude 0 degrees 40 minutes 5, longitude 119 degrees W, when an enraged bull whale rammed the ship twice and capsized it. The crew escaped in open boats, but only five of them survived the ⁴,SOO-mile journey to Peru, which took 83 days. The story of the Essex was one of the inspirations for Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick.”

       1862- Confederate army of Tennessee, organizes under Gen Braxton Bragg

http://www.civilwarhome.com/braggbio.htm

http://www.ngeorgia.com/people/braggb.html

http://www.civilwarhome.com/CHMbraggbio.htm

http://users.aol.com/cinticwrt/bragg.html

        1864- Nearly a week into the famous March to the Sea, the army of Union General William T. Sherman moves toward central Georgia, destroying property and routing small militia units it its path. Advanced units of the army skirmished with scattered Rebel forces at Clinton, Walnut Creek, East Macon, and Griswoldville, all in the vicinity of Macon. The march began on November 15 and ended on December 21, 1864. Sherman led 62,000 troops for 285 miles across Georgia and cut a path of destruction more than fifty miles wide. He divided his force into two columns and widened the swath of destruction. The Yankees cut away from their supply lines at Atlanta and generally lived off the land. What they did not consume, they destroyed. More than 13,000 cattle fell into Union hands, as well as 90,000 bales of cotton and numerous sawmills, foundries, cotton gins, and warehouses. The March to the Sea devastated Southern morale and earned Sherman the lasting hatred of many Southerners.

       1866—Formation of Howard University.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov20.html

        1866-The first bicycle with a rotary crank was patented by Pierre Lallemont. It was known as a “bone shaker.” He rode on it from Ansonia, CT, to New Haven, CT. the fore wheel was axled to the jaws of a depending bar, which was pivoted in the frame, and turned by a horizontal level bar, which was revolved by a treadle crank.

       1889-Birthday of Edwin Powell Hubble, American astronomer born at Marshfield, MO. His discovery and development of the concept of an expanding universe has been described as the “most spectacular astronomical discover” of the 20^th century. As a tribute, the Hubble Space Telescope, deployed April 25, 1990, form a US Space Shuttle Discovery, was named for him. The Hubble Space Telescope with a 240-centimeter mirror, was to allow astronomers to see farther into space than they had ever seen from telescopes on Earth. Hubble died at San Marino, CA, September 29, 1953.

       1910-Today it is a national holiday in Mexico. Francisco I. Madero launched a social revolution in Mexico.

       1910-Birthday of trumpet player Franc Williams, McConnels Mills, MA

       1919- “Swede “ Myerhofer landed his plane and christened the first airport owned by a city, Tucson Municipal Airport, located east of Tucson, Arizona.

       1920-Birthday of trumpet player Joe Guy, Birmingham, AL Died, 1962.

       1923-African-American Garrett T Morgan patents the traffic signal.

Founder of the “Cleveland Call” newspaper, he became a wealthy

man, and also holds many patents for many inventions.

http://education.dot.gov/aboutmorgan.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/page/m/morgan.shtml

       1925-Birthday of Robert Kennedy, the US Senator and younger brother of John F. Kennedy ( thirty-fifth president), Brookline, MA. History shows him as the only US Senator to also have a brother who was president. It is thought President George Bush will name the new justice building after him. Robert Kennedy was killed by Sirhan Sirhan while campaigning for the presidential nomination. When I worked at ABC-TV West Coast News, I covered the afternoon Sirhan trail, seating only a few feet from him. I had interviewed both Kennedy brothers as a newsman.

       1925-Birthday of singer June Christy.

http://www.belten.freeserve.co.uk/misty/june.htm

       1931-The American Telegraph and Telephone Company introduced the first teletype commercial service. Messages were typed on tape and transmitted automatically to a central office and retransmitted to their destinations. The charges were based on the time required to transmit each message, , not on the number of words.

       1943- The US began it during the night by attacking the Gilbert Islands, particularly the islets of Betio and Makin. The Japanese had heavily fortified the Tarawa chain of atolls, especially Tarawa, with pillboxes, blockhouses and ferroconcrete bombproof. In the eight days it took the 5th Amphibious Corps, 2nd Marine Division and the 27th Infantry Division to take the Tarawa and Makin Islands, 1,000 US soldiers were killed and 2.311 wounded. The Japanese loss was tallied at 4,700 men killed, 17 wounded captured and 129 Koreans surrendered. The US public, who through censorship previously had been kept in the dark about the human cost of the war, was appalled by casualty figures and photographs from the battle offensive against Japan in the Central Pacific (Operation Galvanic).

       1944- Les Brown, with Doris Day, records “ Sentimental Journey.”

       1945-The International Military Tribunal begins trying German war criminals at Nuremberg. The trial, which lasted 78 days, attempted to hold Nazi and German military officials accountable for atrocities including the massacre of 30,000 Russians during the German invasion and the massacre of at least 50,000 people in the Warsaw Ghetto. Twenty-four defendants were tried, including Hermann Goering, the designated successor to Hitler, and Rudolf Hess, Hitler's personal secretary. All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. When one of the defendants demanded that an anti-Semitic lawyer represent him, an ex-Nazi was assigned to his defense. Because of the mountains of evidence and the many languages spoken by the defendants and prosecutors, the trial was beset with logistical problems. During the proceedings, Rudolf Hess feigned amnesia to escape responsibility. Though many expected the most excitement to arise from the cross-examination of Hermann Goering, his testimony was a letdown: he was even attacked by his fellow defendants for refusing to take responsibility for anything. Twenty-one defendants were convicted: 12 were sentenced to hang, and the rest were sent to prison. One man escaped the hanging by remaining at large while Goering escaped by committing suicide first. On October 16, 1946, 10 Nazi officials were hanged.

       1945- the first session of the German war crimes trials , known as the Nuremberg Trials, started at Berlin this day in 1945 with indictments against 24 former Nazi leaders. Twelve were sentenced, one committed suicide during the trial, and another was excused because of his physical and mental condition. The trial lasted more than ten months.

       1947 - The first network presentation of "Meet the Press" aired on NBC-TV (consisting of two stations). The panel interview program became the longest-running series on network television. Today the interviewing is by one man, Tim Russert, and “If this is Sunday, it Must be Meet the Press....Go, Bills.”

http://www.msnbc.com/onair/bios/t_russert.asp

       1951—Top Hits
Because of You - Tony Bennett
Down Yonder - Del Wood
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King
Sin (It’s No) - Eddy Howard
    1952-A struggling Frank Sinatra agrees to a screen test for a role in From Here to Eternity. The movie will win him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and revive his flagging career. Frank Sinatra was born in New Jersey in 1915. He formed a singing quartet in his teens; the group won a popular radio talent show in 1935 and began touring small nightclubs. In 1940, Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and began topping the charts. Sinatra soon became a popular screen actor, but after his vocal chords suffered damage in 1952, his career took a drastic downturn. His talent agency dropped him, and he had to plead with movie producers to cast him, agreeing to do screen tests despite the fact that he was already a well-known performer. He won the role in From Here to Eternity (1953) but was paid only $8,000. However, the role and the Academy Award he won helped resurrect his career.

       1959—Top Hits
Mr. Blue - The Fleetwoods
Don’t You Know - Della Reese
Heartaches by the Number - Guy Mitchell
Country Girl - Faron Young

       1962-Lifting of the naval blockage of Cuba was announced by President Kennedy, following assurances by Premier Khrushchev that ll Soviet jet bombers in Cuba would be removed within 30 days.

       1962-An executive order prohibiting racial discrimination in housing built or purchased with federal funds was signed by President Kennedy.

       1966 - "Cabaret" opened on Broadway for the first of 1,166 stellar performances. Joel Gray starred in the hugely successful musical that is an adaptation of both the play, "I Am a Camera", and the novel, "Goodbye to Berlin".

        1967—Top Hits
To Sir with Love - Lulu
Soul Man - Sam & Dave
Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock
It’s the Little Things - Sonny James
    1969-In the United States, Seymour Hersh, an independent investigative journalist, files a second My Lai story based on interviews with Michael Terry and Michael Bernhardt, who served under 1st Lt. William Calley during the action that was later dubbed the My Lai massacre. Also on this day, the Cleveland Plain Dealer published explicit photos of the dead at My Lai. The American public was stunned. Hersh broke the story earlier in the month, describing how soldiers from the American Division conducting a sweep of My Lai indiscriminately shot people as they ran from their huts, and then systematically rounded up the survivors, allegedly leading them to a ditch where they were executed per Calley's orders.
Despite the fact that an Army board of inquiry found that 30 persons either participated in the atrocity or knew of it and failed to do anything, only 14 were charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted, except Calley, who was found guilty of murdering 22 civilians and was sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced twice and William Calley gained parole in November 1974.

       1975—Top Hits
Island Girl - Elton John
Who Loves You - Four Seasons
That’s the Way (I like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way - Waylon Jennings

       1976- Woody Herman Band plus alumni play Carnegie Hall on their 40^th anniversary ( RCA BGL2-2203)

       1979-The first transfusion of artificial blood took place at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Minneapolis, MN. The patient was a Jehovah’s Witness who on religious grounds refused a transfusion of real blood. Dr. Robert Anderson injected the patient with Fluosol, an artificial blood substitute developed in Japan.

       1982- the University of California football team defeated Stanford University, 25-20, on a most unusual last play. Stanford was ahead, 20-19, and had to kick off with only a few seconds left. The Cal players knew that if any of them were tackled, the game would be over. They began a unscripted series of five laterals that landed them in the end zone after they dodged all the Stanford players and the Stanford band which had rushed onto the field prematurely. The Stanford band today is quite unique and iconoclast, it is said due to this event of losing the game because they came on the field too early

in celebration of the “victory.” 1984 - The largest crowd to see the unveiling of a Hollywood Walk-of-Fame star turned out as Michael Jackson got his piece of the sidewalk right in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. ‘The Gloved One’ became star number 1,793 on the famed walk

       1983—Top Hits
All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
One of a Kind Pair of Fools - Barbara Mandrell

       1990- Due to his unruly behavior toward the umpires in Game 4 of the ALCS, Roger 'the Rocket' Clemens is suspended for the first five games of the 1991 season and is fined $10,000.
    1991---Top Hits
Cream - Prince & The N.P.G.
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
When a Man Loves a Woman - Michael Bolton
Shameless - Garth Brooks

       1997- A.C. Green of the Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record for consecutive games played, 907, when he took the floor for the Mavericks’ game against the Golden State Warriors. Green began his streak on November 19,1986, when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers. It continued as he moved to the Phoenix Suns and then to the Mavericks. his accomplishment was noted with an elaborate halftime ceremony that included appearances by Randy Smith, the man whose record Green broke, and baseball’s iron man, Cal Ripken.

       2001- Ichiro Suzuki becomes only the second player in major league history to win the Most Valuable player Award in the same year as being selected Rookie of the Year. The 28-year- old Mariner outfielder joins Red Sox freshman outfielder Fred Lynn, who accomplished the feat in 1975, as the only other rookie to win the MVP.

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